This spring I was amazed at how much my garden rebounded after several years of drought and I bet you might have been too!  It has been such a joy to see the many shades of green and all the spring blooms.  The birds and pollinators have been really active as well, enjoying the fresh and revitalized garden.  This rain has also helped me to see how my garden had kind of fallen into disrepair over the last few years, and this spring's green has inspired me to bring it back up to good condition!  For some ideas on reinvigorating your garden, check out our upcoming free online short series here (add class link).  In the meantime here area few quick tips to bring your garden back after a few months (or years) of neglect!

 

1. A garden is a work in progress, and that means reevaluating your goals, design, and needs every so often! When I talk to people about gardening, I like to remind them (and myself!) that gardening is a journey, not a destination.  That means a garden is never really “done,” and that's a good thing.  The relationship we have with our garden, and the time spent outside, is vital for not only the health of our planet but for ourselves as well.  With that in mind I like to do seasonal check-ins with my garden to see what plants are working and what aren't.  I consider what hardscape features I could add to make my garden more functional in the rain or extreme heat.  These check ins can not only help keep your garden looking it's best they can also help keep you engaged, or reengaged, in your garden even if you sort of “fell of” for a season or two because of life, etc!

 

2. This rain has greened up things that might not be practical to keep green under another more drought and water restrictions (we're still there!). Nature blessed us with some serious water this spring, and I'm seeing so many things that are green that haven't really looked their best in years.  I must remind myself that in my area I got about 30 inches of rain, about 18 inches above average, and that is not sustainable if I needed to water those plants to keep them going.  With that in mind, I am noting which plants might not be best suited for my yard since they do best with more water than I am usually able to provide, and that can help me decide what to keep and what not to keep.  For plants that I am really attached to, I am thinking of ways to help reduce moisture loss, like adding mulch, and also thinking about ways that I can extend the water I have through rain catchment, berms and swales, and greywater (for non-edibles), or setting up more efficient irrigation systems.

 

3.  If you're pressed for time in the garden or have a big space that you want to rejuvenate, consider breaking your space into sections to make tackling the job easier.  There are lots of ways to mentally divide up your garden space.  You can think about the plants function, like pollinator habitat, food gardening, fruit trees, ornamental plants, native habitat, etc.  You can also think about your space in terms of how things are planted, like in containers, in the ground, in raised beds, etc.  In my garden I also have added a layer of what I like to do in each space.  So, for example I have a meditative or relaxing space, my herb garden, my native habitats, and a small orchard.  These spaces aren't that large but giving them a “theme” helps me decide where I am going to work on any given day, and I just sort of rotate around to give even attention to all.  This can also help me decide that “today I am going to work on cleaning up my (neglected) meditation area” so I don't feel so overwhelmed by all the garden chores I need to do (really sounds like I need that meditation space to be up and running!!).

 

4. Another way to break up garden chores that might seem overwhelming is to focus on specific tasks.  This is a technique I use regularly in my garden.  I will decide that “today I am going to just move mulch, or work on my compost pile, or prune fruit trees off the ground to help keep ants out…..”  This single task might be something I do in multiple areas of the garden, but I can bring out one set of tools, or stay focused on one task and can really get a lot done.

 

5. Don't forget that the “little by little” approach can move mountains (of mulch for example)!   I am amazed at how much I can get done that way.  Just spending 15 min a day in my garden can show results in a week's time.  The same goes for a big pruning or weeding job, or any other big task that you are doing yourself.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the tasks that lie ahead of me, but I can tell you from experience that working in the yard for 15 min a day is a lot more productive than the weeks I spent just thinking about how big of a job something is!  That short time in the garden is also a great way to clear your head each day and it can become a great part of your healthy lifestyle routine.  Getting into a routine can help you get back into gardening more easily if you've had things that have kept you from garden for a few days or even weeks.

 

6. Lastly, be patient with yourself and your garden.  When you see amazing gardens at your neighbor's house, or online, don't compare your garden to theirs in a judgmental way.  They may have lots of garden helpers or be retired with plenty of time on their hands.  They may have also just found their gardening groove….a routine that works for them that keeps them getting into the garden on a regular basis, even if it's just for a short interval each time.  I try to look at those “ideal” gardens and see what's possible, what I like and don't like, and think about how I may be able to incorporate it into my garden over time.  Last year I wanted to add more herbs to my garden, and took the little by little approach.  After a year I am amazed at the little herb forest I have going and am so impressed by how my little efforts paid off.  Some things I planted last year also didn't work, but I took a few min here and there to think about why certain things didn't work in that microclimate.  I recommitted to some things this year that I really wanted to see come together and let some other things go that just didn't work for me (and my schedule or desired water usage), and that's ok too. Be kind to yourself in your garden and remember that it's a journey and not a destination! It's amazing what can be accomplished over time with just a little consistent investment each day or week.

Hopefully these tips help you feel empowered to tackle even the most neglected space!  We would also love to hear about your gardening strategies to keep your garden at its best, so join our classes on revitalizing your garden to share your stories or if you need some more ideas end encouragement to get it done!

In my previous blog, I gave an overview of the first two days of COMPOST2023. The event, hosted by the The US Composting Council in January, was an outstanding learning and networking experience. In Part 2, I'm excited to discuss the rest of the event, including the conference sessions at the Ontario Convention Center and Demo Day at One Stop Landscape Supply.

The highlight of the opening day of conference sessions was the keynote address by Kara Brewer Boyd, President of the Association of American Indian Farmers and a member of the Board of Directors for Kiss the Ground. Her husband, John Boyd Jr., is President of the National Black Farmers Association. Together, they run a 1600-acre farm in Virginia and advocate for civil rights and increased land ownership for minority farmers. The Boyds were featured in the The American Farm documentary series on the History Channel. According to Kara Brewer Boyd, Native American farms are on the rise, and the origins of regenerative agriculture are indigenous. By following regenerative agriculture practices, farmers can restore soil health. This is particularly important because the earth has lost a third of its arable land in the last 40 years as a result of erosion and pollution.

After the keynote, I wandered over to the Exhibit Hall, eager to check out the vendors and information tables. Major equipment vendors such as Komptech and Ecoverse showcased their massive composting machines, while product manufacturers offered samples of compostable bags and utensils. One of the biggest trends was biochar—a carbon-rich, charcoal-like substance created by burning organic material without oxygen. It was interesting to see that even pistachio shells can be used to produce this substance! When blended with compost, biochar enriches the soil by increasing its moisture retention, nutrient content, and microbial activity.

I've previously discussed Senate Bill 1383, the California legislation aimed at reducing organic waste disposal in landfills and increasing edible food recovery. Since it took effect in January 2022, local governments have started to implement the bill's regulations. During the “Compliance and Impacts” session, Jessica Toth, the Executive Director of Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, shared lessons from early SB 1383 adoption. Solana Center has worked with over 80 percent of the jurisdictions in San Diego, revealing uneven SB 1383 implementation across cities, including differences in curbside services, service pricing, staffing levels, education and outreach, and food rescue capabilities. There is also a need for procedural changes to enable more effective food donation.

The final presentation I attended on opening day was “Healthy Soils for Healthy Parks: Los Angeles Urban Carbon Farm at Griffith Park” by Lynn Fang, a well-known educator and researcher in composting systems and soil science. LA Compost recently established its first park-based compost site at Griffith Park, using food waste collected from local farmers market drop-offs.  Lynn's presentation highlighted a demonstration project of the Healthy Soils for Healthy Communities Initiative, led by TreePeople in partnership with LA Parks and Recreation, Kiss the Ground, and LA Compost, to promote regenerative park management. The study site was a flat, grassy area south of Crystal Springs, where individual plots were treated with mulch from Griffith Park, compost from LA Compost, or no amendment as a control. After 9 months, the researchers found that mulch and compost increased the activity of soil organisms and the percentage of soil organic carbon. 

The second day of the main conference started with a session titled “Community Composters–An Emerging Sector”. The session featured panelists representing organizations engaged in a range of community composting efforts. Gina Vollono shared insights on the uniqueness of the LA Compost sites, ranging from the Regional Compost Hub at Griffith Park to the Rebel Garden at Chuco's Justice Center, located in a parking lot. When developing a site, LA Compost considers not only its capacity but also assesses community interest and engagement. LA Compost also offers a Community Composting Toolkit on their website and runs a Compost Coaching Program.

Other panelists showed how technology can facilitate community composting. Tess Feigenbaum, the Cofounder and Operations Director at Epic Renewal in Rhode Island, announced plans to release a mobile application to help with compost site management, process tracking, data collection, and environmental impact reporting. Sashti Balasundaram, the Founder and CEO of WeRadiate, is leading the development of smart sensors for compost piles, which measure temperature and moisture with remote, real-time monitoring.

The final panelist to speak was Elinor Crescenzi, who shared data on the 31 Community Composting for Green Spaces (CCGS) sites in the Inland Empire. Despite a modest $224K budget for labor and infrastructure, these sites managed to divert about 510K lbs of food scraps and 3.7M lbs of organic material from landfills, resulting in emissions reductions equivalent to 908 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That's similar to taking 200 vehicles off the road for one year! In addition to the environmental impacts, the CCGS program also had significant community and social impacts, such as increasing healthy food access, community engagement and education, social support networks, and psychological well-being. Ninety percent of the sites are growing food in addition to making compost.

Another interesting session was “Compost Market Dynamics in California”. One of the speakers was Jeff Ziegenbein, the site manager of the largest indoor compost facility in North America, the Inland Empire Regional Composting Facility (IERCF). Located in Rancho Cucamonga, the facility produces over 200K cubic yards of compost annually from recycled wood and green waste, biosolids, and horse stable bedding using the Aerated Static Pile process. The composting area is completely enclosed to meet air quality regulations. The filtering system does such a good job at odor control I didn't even know this facility is literally in my backyard. The compost, marketed under the SoilPro brand, is used in a variety of applications, including landscaping, horticulture, turf management, agriculture, and roadways.

After attending the morning sessions, I returned to the Exhibit Hall for some Q&A with the finalists of the Emerging Composter Competition. The first place winner was Greg Mankowski of Evolve Pet Composting Services and Consultation in Michigan. His business is very timely, as more and more states, including California, are passing laws to allow human composting. Second place was Justin Brann of  Crystal Coast Compost in North Carolina, who composts food waste from many sources, including residences, businesses, farmers markets, and events. Third place was Jameson Meyst of Juicycles, who collects unpicked fruit from San Diego orchards, juices it onsite, and distributes juice and fruit popsicles to the community while composting the remaining waste.

Michael Martinez, the Founder and Executive Director of LA Compost, delivered an inspiring closing keynote speech. Despite recovering from ankle surgery, he showed up full of energy and passion. Michael is a legend in the world of community composting! LA Compost started ten years ago as a small group of family and friends collecting organic waste on bicycles and has since grown into a decentralized network of over 40 compost hubs. The organization's vision is to connect the people of LA to the soil and each other. Michael believes that composting can nourish not only the soil but also the soul.

My favorite day of COMPOST2023 was Demo Day, which took place at One Stop Landscaping Supply in Redlands. The place is huge, making it the perfect setting for demonstrations of large-scale composting equipment. As a volunteer, my day started early to direct traffic to the parking area and hand out safety gear to the attendees. 

Over 20 vendors transported their equipment to the site for the event. Each group of machines—screeners, grinders and shredders, and windrow turners—ran at designated times so the attendees could compare their capabilities. Between demonstrations, participants had the chance to connect with vendors and learn more about their products. I took advantage of this time to climb up on one of the grinders and explore its inner workings.

Despite the loud noise of the equipment, the wild burros grazing around the parking lot seemed unfazed. Having only heard about herds of burros roaming San Timoteo Canyon, I was thrilled to see them up close. Although they were quite shy and wandered away when approached, many drivers stopped to snap some photos before heading out.

If this blog has piqued your interest in COMPOST2023, you can find the recordings at Compost University on the US Composting Council website. I'm already looking forward to next year's conference at the Ocean Center Convention Center in Dayton Beach, Florida from February 6th to 9th. The theme of COMPOST2024 is “Making Waves”, which is fitting given the impact composting is sure to have for years to come.

If you want to learn more about composting, check out the videos on our UCCE San Bernardino YouTube channel or contact the Master Gardener Helpline at mgsanbern@ucanr.edu or (909) 387-2182.

Have you enjoyed reading this blog? Do you have questions? Need help with school gardens or environmental education? Feel free to contact me at dschnur@ucanr.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.

I couldn't believe it when I heard that COMPOST2023, billed as “the world's largest composting event”, was going to be held in Ontario, California in January. What were the odds that a composting enthusiast such as myself would be so close to the action? I'm so glad I was able to attend as a volunteer! This year's theme was “Capturing Carbon Renewing Soil”, emphasizing the importance of composting in reducing carbon emissions and enhancing soil health. 

The US Composting Council (USCC) organized the conference and tradeshow, which has grown from 80 attendees in 1999 to 1500 this year. According to its mission statement, the USCC “advances compost manufacturing, compost utilization, and organics recycling to benefit our members, society, and the environment”. Members range from compost manufacturers and equipment suppliers to policy makers and researchers. Membership benefits include professional certifications, mentorship, and online classes through Compost University.

COMPOST2023 ran from Monday, January 23rd to Friday, January 27th, starting with two days of pre-conference activities. On the first day, I attended the Cultivating Community Composting Forum at the Ontario Convention Center. The second day was a Field Day with bus tours of local composting sites. I attended conference sessions at the Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday and volunteered for Demo Day at One Stop Landscape Supply on Friday. It was a lot to absorb in such a short time.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) coordinated the Cultivating Community Composting Forum and related Field Day activities. ISLR's Composting for Community Initiative works to advance “local composting to create jobs, enhance soils, protect the climate, and reduce waste through advocacy, training, research, demonstration sites, and coalition building”. The goals of the forum were to share best practices and build support for small-scale, community-based composting.

The Cultivating Community Composting Forum began with a welcome from Kourtnii Brown of the California Alliance for Community Composting and introductions from Elinor Crescenzi of the Integrative Development Initiative and Clarissa Libertelli of ILSR. Elinor energized the crowd with the message that “small is beautiful” and community composters are building a new movement and new structures for change. Clarissa invited attendees to join the Community Composter Coalition to build a network through peer-learning opportunities and leveraging collective power.

After a short break, the forum attendees reconvened for two peer-to-peer chat sessions on topics including scaling up, business and mission planning, funding and financing, and communications. I attended the sessions on community building and composting methods and best practices. These chats gave me the opportunity to share experiences with composters from across the country–from Peels & Wheels Composting in New Haven, Connecticut to ReMark Composting Solutions in Detroit to Hart's Worm Farm in Irvine.

The afternoon agenda consisted of two concurrent presentation sessions followed by two panels. One of the most memorable presentations was “Generating Excitement About Community Composting in an Urban, Chronically Marginalized Community” by Marvin Hayes and Kenny Moss of the Baltimore Compost Collective. Marvin is the Executive Director of the Collective which collects food scraps from residences and composts them at the Filbert Street Community Garden. Kenny, a student leader in the youth entrepreneurship program, helps manage the composting operations. In a catchy poem, Marvin described the role of composting this way: “Learn so we don't have to burn. Starve the incinerator. Feed the soil. Feed the Community! Clean air for Baltimore.” In 2022, the Baltimore Compost Collective served over 300 customers and increased its waste diversion by 40%.

Kourtnii Brown told the story of how the California Alliance for Community Composting (CACC) launched 120 community composting hubs with a $1.54M Community Composting for Green Spaces grant from CalRecycle. The network of composting sites spanned the state in 6 regions: the Bay Area, Fresno & Central California, the Inland Empire, Greater Los Angeles, Sacramento & Northern California, and Greater San Diego. CACC provided on-site support with skilled staff, infrastructure, community building, and program development. In the summer of 2021, CACC held a Soil Stewardship Training retreat (also called “Soil Summer Camp”) at Amy's Farm to train the trainers at the composting sites. Training recordings are available for public view on YouTube. Since 2020, the sites have diverted millions of organic waste from landfills and produced thousands of cubic yards of compost. The first round of CalRecycle funding just ended in January, and organizations have submitted applications for a second round. 

On the second day of COMPOST2023, the Community and Smaller Scale Composting Field Day featured activities at the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies at CalPoly Pomona in the morning and tours of local composting sites in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the morning session was so popular it filled up before I could register. Participants rotated between small equipment and system demonstrations, a compost microscopy station, and a compost monitoring station.

Of the two afternoon composting site tours, I opted for the one that included Temple Beth Israel in Pomona, Claremont Friends Meeting, and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation in San Dimas. Temple Beth Israel was the newest composting site we visited. There are an impressive number of raised beds on the property (around 20 from what I remember), where onions, herbs, greens, and other vegetables are grown in partnership with Uncommon Good. Ten small businesses provide food waste for composting next to the planting beds.

At Claremont Friends Meeting, our tour group met Romeo Lodia, the Community Composting Manager for Sustainable Claremont. Community members pay a small fee to drop off their full food waste bins and pick up empty, clean ones each week. Volunteers mix the food waste with wood chips from the City of Claremont and manure from Amy's Farm to create free compost for the neighborhood. 

I'm excited to share more about COMPOST2023 in my upcoming post. Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll dive into the main conference sessions and Demo Day.

If you want to learn more about composting, check out our UCCE San Bernardino YouTube channel or contact the Master Gardener Helpline at mgsanbern@ucanr.edu or (909) 387-2182.

Have you enjoyed reading this blog? Do you have questions? Need help with school gardens or environmental education? Feel free to contact me at dschnur@ucanr.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.